Irma left over 20,000 homes around Pickens County in the dark, and county and utility crews got to work early Tuesday on the cleanup.

"We went ahead and closed the county offices today because the courthouse and the administrative campus are without power," County Administrator Gerald Wilson said Tuesday morning. "We gave all non-essential personnel the day off, and essential personnel are out clearing roads and fallen trees."

Wilson said over 20,000 homes were without power, but he knew of only four homes that were damaged by falling trees and power lines.

"We've got people out still doing damage assessments," said Wilson. "There are numerous back roads closed due to downed power lines and we can't reopen them until the utilities can get to shut the power off."

“"That's something important to note: if you see a power line tangled up in a tree, don't touch it. You'll know it's safe when the power line is gone, and not before. Duke doesn't leave lines on the ground when they're done."”

Tom Cloer, Assistant Town Administrator, Central

Central got walloped, according to Assistant Town Administrator Tom Cloer. Dozens of trees fell across the town; in one instance, a fire crew trying to remove a large oak from a town street were boxed in when trees fell behind them and in front of them as they worked.

"We had 46 fire calls between 4:30 p.m. and 2 a.m. last night; our previous all time record for one day was 27," Cloer said. "It could have been a lot worse, and we were lucky no one was hurt.

Cloer said some residents are still stuck at home because their driveways are blocked, but town officials have told them to not try to clear fallen trees with power lines in them.

"That's something important to note: if you see a power line tangled up in a tree, don't touch it," Cloer said. "You'll know it's safe when the power line is gone, and not before. Duke doesn't leave lines on the ground when they're done."

Clemson and Liberty didn't appear to be as bad off as their neighbors. Liberty City Administrator Shirley Hughes said there were "no major issues," other than some downed trees and limit powers, and Clemson's cleanup was well underway by lunchtime Tuesday.

"We did much better than those around us," said City Administrator Rick Cotton. "We had all of our streets cleared by three o'clock this (Tuesday) morning. "Our people are out now clearing downed limbs and that's about it."

Rick Cotton, Clemson City Administrator(Photo: Contributed photo)

Cotton wasn't about to complain about storm damage.

"There's no whining here, especially when we look at happened to the south in Florida and Texas," Cotton said.

Six county schools, including Liberty and Daniel high schools, were still without power Tuesday afternoon. School District of Pickens County Spokesman John Eby said those outages and road closures around the county could make it tough to resume classes Wednesday, but no decision has been made yet.

SDPC logo(Photo: SDPC)

Eby said district officials are waiting on estimates from Duke Energy and Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative about restoring electrical service before making any decisions about Wednesday classes.

Eby said that if the district announces a decision Tuesday night, it would come by 9 p.m. or "if we hear sooner about power, we could announce something earlier."

A closure announcement could come as late as early Wednesday morning, and no announcement means school is back on for Wednesday, Eby added.